In its biggest expansion to date, ridesharing startup Lyft has launched in three new Illinois cities.
Lyft announced Thursday that it is now operating in more than 50 new cities, including Carbondale, Decatur and Kankakee. It also expanded to nearby Gary, Indiana, along with several other Midwest locations throughout Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The new locations add to Lyft's Illinois presence, which includes Chicago, Champaign, Bloomington, Evanston, Naperville and Normal.
"The move is part of this year’s massive expansion, which we kicked off with a 40-city launch just one month ago," Lyft wrote in a blog post. "Now, millions more people across the US have access to reliable, affordable transportation."
Lyft's expansion comes as its rival Uber has trudged through several weeks of brutal PR. A former employee wrote a scathing blog post this week detailing allegations of sexual harassment and sexism, prompting Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to hire former US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the charges.
That controversy follows last months #DeleteUber campaign in which many Uber users lashed out at the company's response to President Donald Trump's travel ban, as well as Kalanick's role in a White House business advisory group. Kalanick later removed himself from the advisory council.
Lyft announced plans in January to be in 100 new cities this year, increasing its footprint to 300 cities across the US.
